mt. baker
After spending a few days in Oso, we wanted to head north so we could get a look at Mt. Baker. I’ve seen it numerous times in the distance while on the Olympic Peninsula but never had taken the time to get up close and personal.
Here are a couple of interesting facts about this mountain. Mt. Baker has the heaviest glacier cover of the Cascade Range volcanoes; the volume of snow and ice on Mount Baker is greater than that of all the other Cascades volcanoes (except Rainier) combined. Mt. Baker is the third-highest mountain in Washington and the fifth-highest in the Cascade Range.
Indigenous peoples have known the mountain for thousands of years, but the first written record of the mountain is from Spanish explorer Gonzalo Lopez de Haro, who mapped it in 1790 as Gran Montaña del Carmelo, “Great Mount Carmel“. The explorer George Vancouver renamed the mountain after 3rd Lieutenant Joseph Baker of HMS Discovery, who saw it on April 30, 1792.
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As it was the middle of the week when we decide to head up we had the mountain pretty much to ourselves which suited us just fine. We took our friend, and fellow Essex Explorer Brads, advise and headed to Artist Point which is located at the end of Mount Baker Highway. We were not disappointed. Just the drive is worth the effort, but the views from up top are stunning. Both Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan are visible and seem to be within arms reach.
While on the way back from the top, we took advantage of the weather to stop along the bank of the North Fork Nooksack River and have a picnic lunch. Turned out to be a great day in the North Cascades.
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Looking down on our campground from atop Tower Rock. It's a straight 2000' straight drop from here.
Driving up to Mosquito Meadows I noticed a dark shadow and gap just off the forest road. This small but picturesque waterfall on Pinto Creek was the reward for pulling off to investigate.
We had spent the afternoon looking up at 2000’ Tower Rock from our camp. We decided to hike to the summit for sunset. Here’s the view from up top.
Heading out to Gifford Pinchot National Forest to explore a few new areas.
After a week of sitting on the shoreline waiting for the weather on Augustine Island and her volcano, we finally had our chance to paddle over to the mainland. Fortune smiled at us that day!
A kayaker making his way across Coldwater Lake with the crater of Mt. St. Helens in the background.
On May 16, 1898, the North Head Lighthouse was put into service as the primary navigation aid at the mouth of the Columbia River and still stands as a sentinel overlooking this treacherous body of water, the confluence between the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean.
This root was near our campsite. I was intrigued because it looks like an entire forest wrapped around it.
Mt. St. Helens seen from Windy Ridge.
Cispus River with Tower Rock in the background. Our camp was locate on the banks of the river.
River bank of the Cispus River inside the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
Headed back to Mt. St. Helens for the weekend. Hoping to visit some of our favorite places as well as discover new ones.
Buck Creek is one of the many waterways that feed the Suiattle River. We spotted this view during our last Wild and Scenic Rivers fieldwork.
During our recent Wild and Scenic River Survey we had the opportunity to do a bit of exploring. Here's Buck Creek which drains into the Suiattle River.
Theresa taking a sample for the Wild and Scenic Rivers project with Adventure Scientist. We'll be heading out to the Suiattle River this weekend for another round of data.
Looking out over Crescent Bay from Tongue Point. We recently experienced the lowest tides in a decade here in Washington.
Bellingham Basecamp
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Speaking of camp, we had decided to move from the Oso area up to Bellingham just to shorten our trips. However, we were pleasantly surprised at just how much the Bellingham area had in the way of outdoor activities as well.
The one aspect that we really appreciate was the sheer number of bike trails available, and we took advantage of them with our RAD Power Bikes. Of all those trails the most interesting was the Interurban Trail which heads out of Bellingham through a number of green belts and eventually ends at Larrabee State Park. Well worth the ride if you are ever in the area.
